Councillors challenge commuters on Car Free Day

Two councillors in Oxford will be joining forces and challenging fellow commuters to cycle into the city tomorrow to celebrate Car Free Day. Thousands of motorists across the country are being urged to walk, cycle or take the bus whether they are going to work, school or the shops.

Councillor John Tanner, Board Member for a Cleaner, Greener City at Oxford City Council and Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Cabinet Member for Growth and Infrastructure will be leaving Redbridge Park and Ride at 8.30am. The pair will be cycling along the main road and cycle routes into Carfax in the city centre.

Councillor John Tanner, said: “Car Free Day is held each year to celebrate our streets as valuable spaces for everyone to enjoy, especially pedestrians, cyclists and bus passengers. It's a chance to leave that car at home, reduce your carbon footprint and find a healthier, less polluting way to travel to work.

“Car Free Day should make us all think about how we travel in Oxford for the rest of the year too. Come and join Ian Hudspeth and me on our cycle ride from Redbridge to Carfax, if you can, but please do your bit tomorrow."

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, added: “'The County Council is very keen to promote modes of transport other than the car.

“Oxford is a medieval city whose streets were never designed to cope with the numbers of cars currently on its streets - the more people who cycle, walk or use the bus the better.”

Away from the city centre Low Carbon Headington is aiming to reduce car journeys through Headington tomorrow. The group will be lobbying car drivers during the run-up to the day to make people think about how they get around the area.

The day celebrates our streets as valuable social spaces, not just space for traffic and aims to encourage the use of alternative forms of transport instead of private cars, to raise awareness among the public of the risks connected with pollution, and to show how towns and cities could look with much less traffic.
To find out more visit www.oxstreets.org.uk